Refillable loose-leaf binder



March s, 1949. A, BROCK 2,463,946. y

REFILLABLE LOOSE-LEAF BINDER Filed Aug. 11, 1944 IN VEN TOR. k7-Mw?5900/1* BY MKM.

Patented Mar. 8, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REFILLABLE LGOSE-LEAFBINDER Arthur F. Brook, Poughkeepsie, N. Y.

Application August 11, 1944i, Serial No. 549,051

1 Claim. 1

The invention herein disclosed relates to binders of the ring type, andobjects of the invention are to provide an inexpensive form of binderwhich will have desirable characteristics of both the rell and the looseleaf forms of binders.

Further special objects of the invention are to accomplish the abovewithout adding to the bulk or weight of the binder or, in the case of aflexible book structure, without destroying or impairing the flexiblecharacter oi the binder.

Other desirable objects and the novel features by which the purposes ofthe invention are attained are set forth or will appear in the course ofthe following specification.

The drawing accompanying and forming a part of the specificationillustrates certain present practical embodiments of the invention butstructure may be modified and changed as regards the presentillustrations, all within the true intent and broad scope of theinvention as hereinafter defined and claimed.

Fig. l in the drawing is a plan View of the cover construction fullyopened in at form and showing at the top how the open rings of thebinder "1^ are entered beneath the edges of the nat holding strip;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the 'attened, fully opened cover structure;

Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged broken cross sectional views showing thebinder rings engaged in the holder or cover structure;

Figs. 5 and 6 are broken plan and longitudinal sectional views,respectively, of a modified form of the holder structure.

Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate a one piece cover structure made up of flexiblecovers 1 and 8 connected by scored fold lines 9 with an integral backportion I8. Secured flat over the inside face oi the back is a strip ofiiat, flexible material H, of slightly less width than the back. Thisstrip is secured along its longitudinal central portion, in theillustration, simply by a pair of staples l2.

The strip Il thus secured reenforces the back without materially addingto the bulk or weight of the back and Without destroying the inherentexibility of the same. The edges of the at strip, while normally restingflat against the back as in Figs. 1 and 2, are unattached and hence freeto be bent away from the back, and this characteristic is made use of inapplying and attaching the binder rings to the cover structure.

In Figs. 3 and 4, a group of leaves I3 are shown threaded over the ringslll of a so-called Wire-O binder which has been left in the intermediateE formation7 with the ends oi the flexibly connected rings open andSeparated 150 an extent indicated at l5 in Fig. l.. This opening, asshown in Figs. 3 and 4, is of less extent than the width of the strip H,so that the group of connected rings can be slid down over the stripwith the separated, open ends of the rings passing in between the edgeportions of the strip and the back.

Because of the ilattened, generally oval shape, the rings operate aswedges to bend up the side edges oi the strip. This yielding, frictionalengagement of the ring ends between the edges of the strip and the backincreases as the binder is slipped down over the strip, so thatordinarily no special holding means are required to prevent the binderfrom slipping out from between the covers. If desired, however, positivestops may be provided at one end of the holding strip after the manner0f the outstanding lugs I6 shown at the lower end of the strip in Fig.l. These laterally projecting lugs will be engaged by the first ring ofthe binder to prevent further movement of the binder over the strip. Theopposite end of the strip may be beveled or tapered somewhat, asindicated at Il, to facilitate easy sliding engagement of the rings overthe strip.

Figs. 5 and 6 show how the holding strip may be modied by extending itand turning under the extended opposite end portions I3, i9 of the same.These stifen the end portions and may have a tendency to more securelycatch and hold the rings engaged with the strip.

Refills made up with the open rings illustrated can be quickly andeasily slipped into position or be removed from the covers. Theyielding, irictional engagement effected by the transverse tensioningand bending of the strip serves to securely hold the rings in place andthere is no possibility of the leaves coming loose with the rings soheld. To remove any of the leaves the binder must be entirely removedfrom the cover. Then as many leaves as desired may be quickly removedfrom or be engaged with the rings and the latter then be slipped backinto secured position. Before the rings are applied or after they havebeen removed, the cover can be stored in the iiat condition shown inFig. 2, taking up practically no greater space than an ordinary onepiece cover, since the only added dimension is just the single thicknessof the applied securing strip. This strip may be of some readilyavailable, inexpensive material, such as heavy paper, ber or cardboard.

What is claimed is:

A book construction comprising a back, a strip of thin, at, flexible,non-metallic, easily bendable material in the nature of cardboardsecured along its longitudinal center in flat engagement over the innerface of said back and a binder of spaced, connected open rings, saidrings being open to an extent less than the width of said strip andthereby adapted to enter between the edges of said strip and the backand to bend said strip transversely into yielding, gripping engagementover the spaced ends of said rings, said strip having an end portion ofthe same turned under, toward the back into position forming an abutmentengageable by the adjoini REFERENCES CITED The following references areof record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,123,846 Cruzan Jul 12, 19382,193,348 Schade Mar 12, 1940 m 2,264,142 Penney Nov. 25, 1941 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 440,606 Great Britain 1936 516,108 GreatBritain 1939 827,377 France 1938

